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Golf Hotel Whiskey: for pilots and aviation enthusiasts

Business Jets

Introducing the Air Deck: A balcony for your luxury jet

Hat tip to Aviatrix for finding and posting this a link to the latest apparent innovation in bixjet luxury: The air deck balcony for your private luxury jet. According to Gizmag, BAE Systems has partnered with Design Q, a luxury transport design consultancy firm, to develop an “Air Deck” viewing platform for BAE’s Avro Business Jet (ABJ). The platform is aimed at jet setters who head off the beaten flight path and want to transform the rear of their aircraft into a living space with an elevated outdoor viewing deck.

However, a jet equipped with an Air Deck will probably be beyond the reach of most of our readers as David Dorman of BAE Systems noted in an update to the article:

In terms of cost, this will depend of course on the level of interior specification chosen, but as a ballpark we reckon on around $16-18 million fully equipped. The actual cost of the basis aircraft is remarkably low because these are pre-owned aircraft, therefore with a lower price.

Not to mention, an aircraft equipped with an air deck is probably the last thing a British pilot needs at this time of year!

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The state of the business aviation market

Business aviation has taken a hit from both the economic downturn and also from negative media coverage but there now appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. An extensive piece in General Aviation News has recently reported that in its 18th edition of the annual Business Aviation Outlook, Honeywell is forecasting the delivery of about 11,000 new business jets from 2009 through 2019 with heavy purchases predicted in various emerging markets around the world. Honeywell is also predicting the market to bottom out by 2010.

[Read more…] about The state of the business aviation market

Mustangs for PPLs

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“Twice the fun, speed and safety.” That’s the promise of flyMustang.com according to its boss, Ruchir Gupta. Offering charters, fractional ownership, low-cost seats on ‘dead-head’ positioning flights and self-fly shares in Cessna’s Mustang VLJ, the company offers PPLs the chance to fly P1 in a light jet without spending millions to buy one.

Most pilots considering the self-fly option will already have plenty of experience operating sophisticated aircraft. For example, a typical would-be flyMustang PPL customer might be stepping up from a Cirrus SR-22 and have 500+ hours with an instrument rating.

Training consists, initially, of a two-week course at FlightSafety in Wichita, Kansas for the $20,000 FAA SIC rating. (“Realistically, we’re expecting most flyMustang pilots to be FAA certificated,” says Gupta.) With additional hours, you can get a crew rating and start to log P1 hours rather than P/UT. Although the Mustang is certified for single-pilot operations, with flyMustang, you’ll always have an highly experienced pilot in the right seat. Like the second engine, a second pilot is a valuable safety feature.

The self-fly fractional ownership scheme isn’t cheap except when compared with the cost of buying and operating your own Mustang. Expect to pay $316,759 for a 1/10th share in a jet and €30,637 a year for fixed operating costs for a fully-managed AOC operator to insure, manage, crew and hangar ‘your’ plane. Hourly variable costs run to €810 plus flight costs such as crew hire, handling, preflight inspections etc. – perhaps another €600-1000 per flying day.

If flyMustang’s scheme takes off, it will give private pilots a rare and exciting chance to fly in the left-hand seat of a hot jet. And while the cost is high, the experience is sure to be priceless.

AVweb’s Mustang preview

Beginner’s Guide to Business Jets

Citation-ExcelBusiness jets are no longer to the playthings of billionaires. For some businesses, they are valuable tools and, while not exactly cheap, they can be surprisingly cost effective. For example, a five-person sales tour of three European cities might take three days on scheduled airlines plus two overnight hotel stays thanks to check-in delays and inflexible airline schedules. Total cost: perhaps £7,000. In a chartered private jet, you could do the same trip in a day. Total cost: perhaps £11,000. Factor in the savings in salaries for the wasted two days and the opportunity cost of tying up key people for so long and it looks like a good deal. Besides the time efficiency, there is less stress – the plane waits for you, not the other way around. It is also more private, more secure and you’re not tied to the big airports. For example, around London you could fly from Biggin Hill, Southend, Northolt or Farnborough or London City. [Read more…] about Beginner’s Guide to Business Jets

World’s biggest bizjet

A380 InteriorThe world of ultra-VIP private jets has a new contender: the Airbus A380. Climb the stairs to the owner’s deck and there’s a spacious bar with full-sized galley. A gently curving corridor leads past two en-suite guest bedrooms to the master suite: an office, double bedroom with full-size bathroom and gym. [Read more…] about World’s biggest bizjet